Spurs spank Clippers

Wednesday

Feb 19, 2014 at 11:28 AM

LOS ANGELES — Patty Mills saw extended minutes due to the absence of Tony Parker and scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help the San Antonio Spurs pull away from the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-103, on Thursday at Staples Center. Parker is dealing with several ailments and will be sidelined "for the foreseeable future," as per head coach Gregg Popovich’s assessment hours before the club’s first game following the All-Star break. Mills filled in for the All-Star admirably and also got help from last weekend’s three-point champion, Marco Belinelli (20 points) and Tim Duncan, who flirted with a triple-double with 19 points, 13 boards and seven assists. Blake Griffin poured in 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Clippers, who had won three in a row coming in. Jamal Crawford chipped in with 25 points and Chris Paul netted 11 with nine assists but shot just 1-of-10 from the field.

LOS ANGELES — Patty Mills saw extended minutes due to the absence of Tony Parker and scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help the San Antonio Spurs pull away from the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-103, on Thursday at Staples Center. Parker is dealing with several ailments and will be sidelined "for the foreseeable future," as per head coach Gregg Popovich’s assessment hours before the club’s first game following the All-Star break. Mills filled in for the All-Star admirably and also got help from last weekend’s three-point champion, Marco Belinelli (20 points) and Tim Duncan, who flirted with a triple-double with 19 points, 13 boards and seven assists. Blake Griffin poured in 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Clippers, who had won three in a row coming in. Jamal Crawford chipped in with 25 points and Chris Paul netted 11 with nine assists but shot just 1-of-10 from the field.

Miami 117, Dallas 106

DALLAS — LeBron James put the Heat on his back Tuesday and carried Miami to a 117-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. James erupted for a season-high 42 points on an efficient 16-of-23 shooting display and fueled a late 14-0 run that put the game away. The four-time league MVP added nine rebounds and six assists for good measure as the Heat improved to 4-1 on a road trip that ends Thursday against the Thunder. Chris Bosh chipped in with 22 points, Chris Andersen contributed 18 off the bench and Dwyane Wade provided 13 points with seven assists. The Mavs, who had won six of seven heading into the All-Star break, committed 16 turnovers and watched the Heat shoot 57.1 percent from the floor, negating their huge 50-28 rebounding advantage. Dirk Nowitzki filled the box score with 22 points, nine boards and seven assists in defeat.

Phoenix 112,

Denver 107 (ot)

DENVER — Gerald Green netted a career-high 36 points, including eight in overtime, and the Phoenix Suns defeated the Denver Nuggets, 112-107, on Tuesday night. Goran Dragic tallied 21 points and 14 assists, Markieff Morris provided 13 points and 12 rebounds and P.J. Tucker added 13 points and 11 boards for the Suns, who had dropped 3-of-4 heading into the All-Star break. Evan Fournier had 25 points and eight rebounds, Kenneth Faried recorded 21 points and 10 boards and Wilson Chandler chipped in with 15 points for Denver, which has lost five in a row.

Indiana 108, Atlanta 98

INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George had 26 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 108-98, on Tuesday night. David West tallied 17 points and six rebounds, while Lance Stephenson added 13 points, seven assists and five boards for Indiana, which dropped 2-of-3 heading into the All-Star break. Kyle Korver, who was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and netted 19 points for Atlanta, extended his NBA record streak of games with at least one made 3-pointer to 121. The Hawks have lost six in a row.

Cleveland 114,

Philadelphia 85

PHILADELPHIA — Tyler Zeller scored a season-high 18 points and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers continued where they left off before the weekend break, with an easy 114-85 drubbing of the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. Kyrie Irving, fresh off his MVP performance in Sunday’s All-Star Game, was one of seven Cavaliers to score in double figures as the club rolled to its fifth consecutive victory. Irving provided 14 points, Luol Deng chipped in with 13 and Tristan Thompson and Anthony Bennett each recorded double-doubles for the victors. The Sixers were never in contention from the opening tip. They have lost nine in a row — their longest skid since the 2009-10 campaign — and have dropped eight straight at home for the first time in a single season since 1996-97.

Charlotte 108, Detroit 96

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Al Jefferson stuffed the stat sheet with 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 108-96 win over the Detroit Pistons in the opener of a home-and-home set. Kemba Walker added 22 points, Josh McRoberts scored 14 to go with 10 rebounds and Gerald Henderson and Ramos Sessions finished with 12 points apiece for the Bobcats, winners in five of their last eight games. Brandon Jennings led the Pistons with 24 points and seven assists and Greg Monroe scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Andre Drummond, who took home MVP honors in Friday’s Rising Stars game, scored 16 points and pulled down 22 rebounds for Detroit, which has dropped its last two after winning three straight.

Memphis 98, New York 93

MEMPHIS — Mike Conley made an impact in his return from injury, recording nine of his 22 points in the final five minutes to help lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 98-93 victory over the New York Knicks at FedEx Forum. Conley, who had missed the Grizzlies’ last seven games with a sprained right ankle, went just 6-of-15 from the field, but came up huge down the stretch as Memphis closed out the contest on a 13-3 run to prevail. Mike Miller also had a big hand in the Grizzlies’ 15th triumph in their last 19 outings, pouring in a season-high 19 points off the bench while hitting 5-of-7 attempts from 3-point range. The Knicks battled back from a 13-point halftime deficit before ultimately being dealt a sixth loss in seven games. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 of his 23 points after the break to lead the comeback effort. Carmelo Anthony, fresh off a dazzling 30-point effort in Sunday’s All-Star Game, finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds for New York.

Milwaukee 104,

Orlando 100

MILWAUKEE — Caron Butler scored 21 points off the bench and helped the Milwaukee Bucks to a 104-100 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. Brandon Knight finished with 18 points and seven assists, while Nate Wolters contributed 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which snapped a four-game losing streak. The win marked the 10th on the season for the Bucks.

who were the only team in the league to have a single-digit win total at the All-Star break. Arron Afflalo paced Orlando with 21 points and Nikola Vucevic ended with 19 points and nine rebounds in the loss, the Magic’s 13th consecutive setback on the road.

Toronto 103,

Washington 93

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kyle Lowry had 24 points and 10 assists in the Toronto Raptors’ 103-93 victory over the Washington Wizards. DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson and Greivis Vasquez each added 14 points for the Raptors, who have won three in a row. Jonas Valanciunas and Patrick Patterson tallied 10 points apiece. John Wall, who was named Dunker of the Night in Saturday’s slam dunk contest, ended with 22 points, seven assists and three steals for the Wizards, who have dropped three straight. Marcin Gortat and Nene donated 18 and 17 points, respectively, with Gortat pulling down 11 rebounds.

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